How To Make Homemade Breadcrumbs

The birds are gonna hate me.

It used to be that when I had some leftover buns or bread, I would go outside to my bird feeder and crumble the bread around on the ground and let the birds go crazy. Poor birds. Now I’ve found something better to do with my bread.

Make my own breadcrumbs!

homemade breadcrumbs

I knew that making my own croutons was pretty easy to do, so I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to get around to making my own homemade breadcrumbs. It’s the same type of process of drying out the bread in the oven except instead of making little cubes, you’re making itsy bitsy crumbs. Lots of itsy bitsy crumbs that end up flying around on the countertop and floor . . . but that’s another story.

Of course, you don’t want to use any bread or buns that are so old that they taste bad or are getting moldy. But this definitely is a nice way to save some money and use up any bread that’s still good. You can also keep odds and ends of bread, buns, or bagels in the freezer until you’re ready to make your breadcrumbs.

Ready to give it a try? Here’s how to do it:

How To Make Homemade Breadcrumbs

You Will Need:

Slices of bread, buns, or bagels – crusts and ends are OK
Food Processor

1. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees

2. Lay out your bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. I used six slices of bread because that’s what fit well on my baking sheet.

homemade breadcrumbs

3. Next you will want to dry out the bread by putting it in the oven. Let it go for about 15 minutes, then flip the bread over and let it go for 10 or 15 more minutes. After this amount of time your bread should be hard and dry. If not, keep giving it additional 10 minute intervals in the oven until you’re happy that the bread is hard, dry, and toasted. You don’t want the bread to be burned, just nice and dried out.

4. Break the dried bread into chunks and place in a food processor. Process for about 10 seconds to make crumbs.

homemade breadcrumbs

5. If you still have any pieces that are too big and are making you grumpy, filter your crumbs through a sifter, strainer, or sieve, and you will then be left with the nice small crumbs that will make you happy.

The six slices of bread I used made about a cup of crumbs.

homemade breadcrumbs

You can store your crumbs in a jar or ziploc bag. It’s best to keep the breadcrumbs in the freezer if you’re not going to be using them up right away. They can be used straight out of the freezer when needed because they don’t freeze up solid.

Make Your Own Italian Breadcrumbs too!

You can also create Italian breadcrumbs by adding some spices. One combo to try is to add 1/4 teaspoon each of dried parsley, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder, along with a dash of oregano, to one cup of breadcrumbs. Another option is to just sprinkle in a little bit of an Italian Seasoning spice blend.

Need a few more bright ideas?
Sign up for the monthly email newsletter to learn about my latest content and tips for frugal homemade living.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

One Comment